The secret six 1931 - A terrific cast makes this early gangster flick

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: George W. Hill
Main Cast: Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Johnny Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Marjorie Rambeau, Clark Gable, Ralph Bellamy, John Miljan

"George W. Hill's The Secret Six was an unlikely subject for an MGM feature - its story of bootleggers battling the law and each other is closer to what Warner Bros. was doing at the start of the 1930s. (One can also see some unique MGM touches in the production - the apartment in which Jean Harlow's character is set up by her mobster/lover Wallace Beery is more elegant, in the best Art Deco design, than anything that would have turned up in a Warner Bros. drama of this sort). And the presence of Clark Gable in a leading role here, and the modest similarities in the plot to Warner Bros.' Little Caesar (released three months earlier) have a certain irony - Gable had been up for the role of Edward G. Robinson's best friend (who eventually helps bring him down) when that earlier film was in pre-production in 1930. He gave such a strong performance in this movie, however, and showed he could dominate the screen so successfully, that he landed a long-term contract with MGM on the strength of his performance here. And Gable is the sparkplug that drives the movie - Wallace Beery is okay, doing what he did best as a sometimes comically uncouth but vicious villain; Jean Harlow is good to look at and acquits herself well as an actress; and Lewis Stone is surprisingly effective as a lawyer whose contact with his criminal clients goes far beyond representing them in court. There are also some tense and well-staged scenes, such as an execution in a subway car, but the movie also creaks in spots where it should roll along smoothly, as was a risk with any talkie in 1931; and the director wasn't quite up to carrying it over those patches - except when Gable is on the screen. There is also some fairly snappy dialogue, courtesy of Hill's wife Frances Marion, and it helps; but the whole notion of a group of masked citizens organizing a secret war against the mob will seem even sillier today than it probably did to anyone who stopped to think about it in 1931. Oddly enough, despite the plot holes and a certain unreality to the briskness of some of the events depicted, this movie was very topical for its time - the exploits of Chicago mobster Al Capone were the obvious basis for some of the misdeeds attributed to Beery's Louis Scorpio, and Capone was indicted for tax evasion (one of the charges leveled at Scorpio) in 1931. As a multi-layered curio, in the career of Clark Gable, as an MGM crime film, and a piece of topical filmmaking, The Secret Six is worth a look - and at its best, it's also an old-style thrill ride." - www.allmovie.com

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The finger points 1931 - Depression era gangster story with a dominating Gable

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,1

Director: John Francis Dillon
Main Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Fay Wray, Regis Toomey, Robert Elliott, Clark Gable, Oscar Apfel

"The names have all been changed, but this hard-hitting gangster tale is based on an actual newspaper headline story involving the brutal slaying of corrupt crime reporter Alfred 'Jake' Lingle, who had been suspected of betraying his boss Al Capone. Naive Southern boy Breckinridge Lee comes to the big city for fame and fortune. He starts out honest, but is unable to the resist hefty payoffs offered by crime lord Louis Blanco to suppress certain stories. Time passes and Lee does a great job for Blanco. Lee's girl friend tries to get him to go straight, but he has become too accustomed to the money and besides is too deeply mired in corruption to ever escape. In the end, he loses his life when a story about Blanco's latest shenanigans escapes his watchful eye and gets printed. Believing Lee was behind the double-cross, Blanco orders him executed and tragedy ensues.
After talkies came in, Warner Brothers didn't really seem to know what to do with Richard Barthelmess, but he hung around in starring roles quite a bit longer than most of his silent counterparts - from 1929 to 1934. Of course, most notable here is Clark Gable, sitting in the palm of Jack Warner's hand, and not being recognized by him as a star in the making. Gable is impressive here as a spats-wearing charming sinner, the gangster who sees Lee as a useful idiot - for awhile anyways." - www.allmovie.com

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The Finger Points 1931 Mp4

Women of all nations 1931 - War, women and wine

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 6,1

Director: Raoul Walsh
Main Cast: Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Greta Nissen, El Brendel, Fifi D'Orsay, Marjorie White, Bela Lugosi

"Flagg and Quirt, the eternally bickering 'friendly enemies' introduced in Lawrence Stallings' WWI play What Price Glory, were at it again in 1931's Women of All Nations. Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe reprise their screen characterizations as pugnacious, girl-crazy marine sergeants Flagg and Quirt, who in the course of the film's 71 minutes hopscotch from Panama to Sweden to Nicaragua to Turkey. In Sweden, the boys battle over the affections of icy blonde Elsa (Greta Nissen), while in Turkey they find themselves in the middle of a sheik's harem (where else?). Comic relief El Brendel has the film's best scene, in which he obeys Flagg's order 'Get me the lay of the land' by returning with coquettish Fifi D'Orsay! Humphrey Bogart was supposed to have played the romantic lead in Women of All Nations, but his role was all but eliminated in the final release print." - www.allmovie.com

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Kept husbands 1931 - Saucy Mackaill with a young McCrea

Dorothy Mackaill & Joel McCrea circa 1931

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IMDB rating: 6,0

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Main Cast: Clara Kimball Young, Joel McCrea, Dorothy Mackaill, Ned Sparks, Mary Carr

"A moderately amusing trifle, Kept Husbands is worth watching for a very young Joel McCrea and the little-seen Dorothy Mackaill. McCrea had a very long and successful career in movies, and seeing him this early in the game is a lot of fun; he's a bit unformed, not quite as sure of himself as he would very shortly become, but there's still that combination of steely stubbornness and vulnerability that would serve him well in future films. He handles the assignment well, although many modern viewers will find his character insufferable; indeed, the 'man's role-woman's role' dialogue will irk quite a few. Mackaill is also fun to watch. A former chorus girl who had a special beauty, her film career never really took off, but she has a unique flair. One suspects that her dramatic range was not unlimited, but she fits this part well and manages to keep the spoiled brat aspect of the character at bay and emphasize her considerable charms instead. As stated, the plot is quite dated, and there's little reality to the screenplay. The drama is bit overblown, but there are a few scenes that have a nice ring to them." - www.allmovie.com

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Arrowsmith 1931 - An early sound version of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel

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IMDB rating: 6,2

Director: John Ford
Main Cast: Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, Myrna Loy

"One of the more prestigious films of its time, John Ford's film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has a sleek Art Deco look strangely out of tune with its tale of moral struggle. One of the director's most uncharacteristic projects, it was an enormous critical and commercial success, and although it remains an interesting film it's marred by an absence of clarity. In taking on the most complex protagonist he had attempted to date, Ford's film tries to balance a critique of the scientist's Faustian ambitions and hunger for glory with an awareness that the research he's doing is absolutely necessary. The film alternates uncertainly between condoning its protagonist's idealism and castigating his indifference to his wife, and the possible side effects of his work. Colman is also somewhat miscast, his characteristic suavity unable to accommodate the complexity of the driven, tormented physician. Helen Hayes easily handles the character of the long-suffering, possibly abused wife, and legendary stage actor Richard Bennett does the best work as the emphatic Sondelius. Particularly in the island sequence, Ford's stylized depth of focus work betrays the influence of Murnau, and his evocation of an undercurrent of paranoia in the face of the burgeoning disease is the film's most powerful effect." - www.allmovie.com

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Dirigible 1931 - Standard storyline with great footage

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IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: Frank Capra
Main Cast: Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Ralph Graves, Hobart Bosworth

"Audiences who only know Frank Capra for his middle/late 1930s and 1940s socially relevant comedies might be surprised by Dirigible. The product of a story by Frank Wead, it's a two-fisted adventure yarn about two US Navy pilots (Jack Holt, Ralph Graves) with very different approaches to work and life. At the center of the story, with apologies to screenwriters Dorothy Howell and Jo Swerling, is the competition of these two men, and their shared goal of reaching the South Pole by air. The romantic triangle with Fay Wray never really takes center-stage, despite a considerable amount of screen time devoted to it - she tries very hard, and Holt, especially, pushes himself to make their scenes together credible, but the best and most convincing parts of the movie are those aerial sequences aboard the dirigible, and the polar scenes in the final 30 minutes. Back in 1931, when many audiences were still dazzled by airplanes and light-than-air ships, Dirigible was considered a major achievement in the field of adventure filmmaking, with superb stunt and model work and even better photography - and fortunately, Capra and his cast threw enough of themselves into their work so that it all still holds up nearly as well today, and even twenty-first century audiences may well find themselves feeling the dazzle factor that filmgoers in 1931 were expected to experience. (For filmgoers in the twenty-first century, there is also the treat of seeing extensive footage of the airship facilities in Lakehurst, New Jersey as well as material shot around New York's City Hall at the time). Additionally, there are surprises to be had in the performances, including Roscoe Karnes, who would later be associated almost completely with comedy, in a serious dramatic role (and, at the risk of spoiling the plot, an agonizing final scene for his character); and Ralph Graves, who is pretty stiff and superficial in his performance here, intoning lines in the film's final section that would later belong, more rightfully, to John Wayne.
While Dirigible is notable as Frank Capra's best early film, the real credit for making something that was both a huge hit during the early years of talking pictures and an old film that will interest even today's jaded action movie fans should go to Editor Maurice Wright. Wright had to assemble this early blockbuster from what Capra shot and what the U.S. Navy provided in the form of stock and promotional footage. He did a great job and you rarely are aware that you watching a movie, let alone a fictional drama." - www.allmovie.com

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Man of the world 1931 - Powell and Lombard fall in love!

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IMDB rating: 6,3

Director: Richard Wallace
Main Cast: William Powell, Carole Lombard, Wynne Gibson

"A minor but fairly entertaining romance among the 'sophisticates', Man of the World is probably of most interest to fans of Carole Lombard interested in seeing the beautiful actress while she was still trying to define her screen persona. Regrettably, this is not one of Lombard's best performances. She does everything that is asked of her and does it perfectly well, but it's a performance that dozens of other attractive young women could have supplied. It lacks distinction and is a bit hesitant. Little of the vibrant radiance that would mark her in later roles is present here. Opposite her, her soon-to-be husband William Powell comes off much better, turning in a carefully shaded performance that is deceptive in its depth. It's Powell's picture, and he carries it beautifully; what he's asked to do in terms of plot and character is often ridiculous and forced by a writer's desire rather than by genuine sensibility, yet Powell makes it all work. A thinner than usual Guy Kibbee is also good, and Wynne Gibson's not-to-be-trifled with Irene is quite believable. Herman Mankiewicz's screenplay lacks credibility in its story and plot, but he turns out some crackling dialogue that makes up for its other shortcomings.
In real life, William Powell and Carole Lombard became husband and wife shortly after filming Man of the World." - www.allmovie.com

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Susan Lenox: Her fall and rise 1931 - Garbo rises above all else

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022453/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,5

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Main Cast: Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jean Hersholt, John Miljan

"It was once theorized by critic Andrew Sarris that this 1931 Greta Garbo vehicle was subtitled 'Her Fall & Rise' rather than the expected 'Rise & Fall', because Hollywood - and by extension, the public - could not tolerate a failure. Whatever the case, modern audiences will latch onto Susan Lennox not because of its cumbersome title but because of its one-time-only pairing of Garbo and Clark Gable. It's a pairing that promises fireworks, especially as Gable is still young - and even mustache-less. Unfortunately, those firecrackers don't ever really materialize. There's certainly some chemistry between the two, but not enough, perhaps because Gable is not well cast. The Gable audiences know and remember would never have let his true love's tawdry background keep him from her. Gable doesn't seem comfortable in the role, and as a result he can't come up to Garbo's level, who is playing a part that fits her like a glove. Looking absolutely stunning in William H. Daniels' lovingly composed photography, Garbo sails through the part, turning in a glorious star diva performance that still finds the truth beneath the cinematic trappings and makes a ridiculous story compelling and thoroughly engaging. Lenox' screenplay is so much nonsense, but Garbo knows she can play that nonsense for all its worth, and she is a wonder to behold. She gets fine support from Jean Hersholt and Alan Hale, and even miscast, Gable is worth seeing; but Lenox is a Garbo vehicle, and she is at all times firmly in the driver's seat.
The film was adapted by four screenwriters from a novel by David Graham Phillips." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/susan-lenox-her-fall-and-rise-v48018/

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Lonely wives 1931 - A quite funny sex farce

Publicity picture of Esther Ralston circa 1931

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022086/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB rating: 6,3

Director: Russell Mack
Main Cast: Edward Everett Horton, Esther Ralston, Laura La Plante, Patsy Ruth Miller

"Five characters find themselves playing a lively game of musical beds in this saucy pre-Code comedy. Richard (Edward Everett Horton) is a well-known lawyer who has a rather surprising reputation as a ladykiller. Felix (also played by Horton) is a nightclub impressionist who wants Richard's permission to spoof him in his stage act. Richard tells Felix he'll grant his approval only if he can convince Mrs. Mantel (Maude Eburne) that's he's actually Richard. As Felix sets out to pull the wool over Mrs. Mantel's eyes, Richard is advising Diane (Laura La Plante), one of his clients with whom he's infatuated, that she should file divorce papers against her husband, unaware that said spouse is actually Felix. Meanwhile, while Felix is trying to fool Mrs. Mantel, Richard's wife, Madeline (Esther Ralston), shows up, and she has no trouble at all believing that Felix is her husband - so much so that Felix ends up in bed with Madeline. Lonely Wives also stars Patsy Ruth Miller and Georgette Rhodes." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/lonely-wives-v29905

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A free soul 1931 - Lionel Barrymore gives an Oscar winning acting lesson

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021885/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore, James Gleason, Clark Gable

"In its day, A Free Soul was powerful stuff, and if the passing of time has diluted its impact, it still carries enough of a punch to make it worth catching today. An example of the kind of adult issues that pre-Code films often explored, Soul is daring for its portrayal of a single woman embroiled in what is clearly a sexual affair with a man; unfortunately, it dresses up this interesting situation in a melodramatic screenplay that never seems to know when to stop. This keeps Soul from being great drama - but it doesn't keep it from being quite entertaining. Clarence Brown provides highly appropriate direction; he embraces (and believes in) the melodrama without letting it get too far out of hand. Brown is blessed with a stellar cast, especially Norma Shearer. The actress is in excellent form and gives a very well modulated performance that allows her to pull out all the stops when appropriate, but also to underplay notably in several key moments. Lionel Barrymore's Oscar-winning performance is slightly more uneven - it's a bit mannered early on and always seems to be channeling Frank Morgan - but it's sensational in the climactic sequences, when it really matters. Clark Gable is a marvelous heel, and Leslie Howard appropriately noble and self-sacrificing. Despite its not inconsiderable flaws, A Free Soul makes for entertaining viewing." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-free-soul-v18556/

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Politics 1931 - "Dressler for mayor!"

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022273/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: Charles 'Chuck' Reisner
Main Cast: Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Roscoe Ates, Karen Morley, William Bakewell, John Miljan, Joan Marsh

"MGM fashioned this pleasant little comedy/drama to showcase their surprisingly popular actress, Marie Dressler. She was beginning her meteoric rise to commence her reign as Hollywood's most popular star, a supremacy that was only cut short by her untimely death in 1934. Massive & shapeless, with a face that could stop a bus, Dressler embodied pure grandmotherly affection and the country gladly took her to their heart. She was also an excellent actress, equally adept at eliciting laughter or tears from her audiences, sometimes almost simultaneously. In the end, when cancer took her, the Mighty Marie proved utterly irreplaceable - truly one of Cinema's Grandest Ladies.
Receiving equal billing is Dressler's frequent comedy partner, Polly Moran. Diminutive & buxom, Polly was a fine comedienne in her own right, and MGM kept her very busy in the early 1930's. Acid-tongued & brash, Moran was adept at slapstick and in every way was an enjoyable sidekick for Marie. Here, gentle Dressler plays Moran's benevolent landlady, uninterested in Polly's political enthusiasms until sudden violence prompts Marie into galvanizing the women of the community, with Polly giving her full encouragement. Each is rewarded, as can be seen in the movie's final moments.
Stuttering Roscoe Ates appears as Polly's grumpy husband. Pretty Karen Morley is Marie's slightly duplicitous daughter, while William Bakewell is her wrong-side-of-the-law boyfriend; each are kept in the background to let the old girls shine. Also effective in very small roles are John Miljan as the local crime boss, Tom McGuire as Lake Port's corrupt mayor and lovely Joan Marsh as the tragic catalyst for the plot."

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Behind office doors 1931 - An outstanding Astor performance

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021649/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,3

Director: Melville W. Brown
Main Cast: Mary Astor, Robert Ames, Ricardo Cortez, Catherine Dale Owen

"Mary Astor plays a receptionsit at a paper mill company. She has her eye on Robert Ames, a young salesman with the company. When the boss is forced to retire, Mary Astor pushes for Robert Ames to take the job, and when he does, Mary is promoted to being his secretary. She is secretly in love with him, only he never seems to notice. As he rises in the company Mary Astor is constantly by his side, giving good business advice as well as advice in his personal life. When Ames marries someone else, Astor is so upset he quits, and the company begins to fall apart.
The film features some adulterous situations, 'free love', a man smacking a woman on the rear (plus she isn't his wife), sexy lingerie, a smart and conniving career girl who smokes and drinks and likes men (Mary Astor), references to hashish, wild parties and lots of sexually-charged banter! However, and this is very odd, but midway through the film the pre-code trashy elements mostly disappear."

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Bad girl 1931 - Rare Oscar winner is a forgotten treat

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021635/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Frank Borzage
Main Cast: Sally Eilers, James Dunn, Minna Gombell

"Modern audiences will likely be amazed to learn that Bad Girl (Based on a novel by Vina Delmar) was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar (and won Oscars for its screenplay and direction). Terribly dated, Bad Girl is not a bad film, but it hardly seems worthy of such honors. Edwin H. Burke's screenplay is overly familiar in many places, but it does attempt to tell a fairly realistic story of two poor people struggling through the challenges of the Great Depression. There's some nice, tasty dialogue served up along the way, peppered with plenty of Depression-era slang, but these alternate with patches of stilted, unconvincing dialogue. Burke also can't keep his hands off a few contrived and jarring plot twists. Frank Borzage's direction is considerably better. This is the kind of "love conquers all" material that was Borzage's meat, and very few directors had such an affinity for romance and could put it on the screen in such a heartfelt manner. Yet it's still not Borzage's best work, surprisingly stiff in a few places and not as cohesively packaged as might have been expected. The acting is generally good, with Sally Eilers and James Dunn affecting and quite realistic. While not one of the great tearjerkers, Bad Girl is worth catching for fans of the genre and for fans of the director." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/bad-girl-v68588/

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The bad sister 1931 - Bette Davis' film debut as the good sister

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021636/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,2

Director: Hobart Henley
Main Cast: Conrad Nagel, Sidney Fox, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Winninger, Zasu Pitts

"'Any intelligent woman could make any man fall in love with her' - No, it has nothing to do with The Bad Sister, but it was Sidney Fox's creed that she practiced. Who would have thought that in just 3 years, the quiet, dependable 'good sister' would be making Hollywood sit up and take notice while the star, the 'bad sister' who got most of the good reviews and publicity would be almost at the end of her career.
Sidney Fox had both father and son (the Laemmles) twisted around her little finger. Junior was the first to fall in love with her - he saw her in the play 'Lost Ship' in 1930 and signed her to a contract. She came to Universal with great fanfare, nothing but the best for little Sidney and The Bad Sister was a flashy debut.
Marianne (beautiful Miss Fox) is the spoiled darling of the Madison household - sleeping late, insulting the maid, Millie (Zasu Pitts) is all in a day's work for her. Being a 'little town flirt' keeps her busy as well - Wade (Bert Roach) is madly in love with her, as is Dick Lindley (Conrad Nagel) - or so he thinks! She also manages to almost lead her family to the poor house because of her extravagant ways and a father who cannot refuse her. While out with Dick, she meets Val Corliss (Humphrey Bogart) or rather 'very neatly' picks him up. She begins a flirtation with Val - but Val is different to the other boys as he is a sophisticated con man. His story goes - he is planning to build a factory on the outskirts of town and wants to bring some local businessmen into key positions. He tries to hook Marianne's father (Charles Winniger), even though he has no money, all Val wants is his name and the influence he has over the town. Strangely, he is the one man in town who is unconvinced of Val's honesty - plus he hasn't made a thorough background check of the company yet. Marianne tries to use her wiles to get her father to sign the contract but when he refuses there is a huge scene. Miss Fox pulls out all the emotional stops as she belittles him, shaming him for his honor and respectability and in the end calling him a failure - until he has a heart attack. Poor, mousey 'good sister' Laura (Bette Davis) has a secret - she is secretly in love with Dick and has written all about it in her diary. Heddie finds the diary and gives it to Dick who is then caught with it by Laura. The movie which until now has been full of small town whimsy turns dramatic as Marianne uses her father's convalescence to take a forged letter to the townsmen stating that Val's scheme is all above board. With that she elopes with Val - only to return home sadder but wiser (Val has run out on her) and also to find that Dick has realised that quiet, dependable Laura can give him true happiness and Wade is her only, still ardent beau.
Apparently Bette Davis lamented for years that she had desperately wanted to play the bad sister but at that stage (it was her first film) she didn't have the vivacity or flirtatiousness of Sidney Fox, who was ideal in the role."

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Svengali 1931 - Under John Barrymore's spell

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022454/?ref_=nv_sr_2
IMDB rating: 7,0

Director: Archie Mayo
Main Cast: John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Crisp

"The George du Maurier novel Trilby, about a hypnotist who controls a female musician, was originally filmed as Trilby, a 1920s silent. In the 1931 talkie, the emphasis shifts from the music student to the teacher, Svengali. John Barrymore gives a scenery-chewing performance as Svengali, who is originally seen tutoring Honori (Carmel Myers). Trilby (Marian Marsh) is making her living as a nude model, but she wants to use her musical talents to earn money and hopes to settle down with Billee (Bramwell Fletcher). Unfortunately, his upper-class family simply wouldn't approve. Svengali falls for Trilby and starts teaching her music while manipulating her hypnotically. Eventually, she becomes so dependent on him that she can't perform outside of his presence. This film became so well-known that the word 'Svengali' became incorporated into the English language, meaning 'someone who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired'.
Two components contribute to make Svengali a classic: John Barrymore's performance and the famous surrealistic sets (Trilby's art-deco-bedroom!). Barrymore's acting diverts from some stiff direction. At first he looks like a crude caricature with his tog, make-up and thick german accent (when Alec Guinness played Fagan in a similar way, he caused a scandal because it looked anti-semitic), but soon his eye-twinkling charm enchant the viewer and near the end his performance becomes nearly soul-stirring. Critics had not one good word for Marion Marsh, but the central premise - singing arias under hypnosis - is impossible to play, because a singer needs temperament, which a puppet has not.
An interesting story: Barrymore's fourth wife fell so completely in love with him after watching Svengali, that she chased him by train, plane and even via radio-address until he finally said 'yes'.
A British version of the film was released in 1955."

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Safe in hell 1931 - A stunning precursor of film noir both thematically and stylistically

Donald Cook and Dorothy Mackaill in Safe in Hell (1931)

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022335/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,2

Director: William A. Wellman
Main Cast: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, Victor Varconi, Nina Mae McKinney, Charles Middleton, Clarence Muse

"A young Barbara Stanwyck was considered for the starring role as the exiled call-girl in this extremely frank pre production-code drama directed by William A. Wellman from a play by Houston Branch. The role eventually went to Dorothy Mackaill, an evocative British-born veteran adept at playing less than respectable women. Mackaill is Gilda Karlson, a call-girl fleeing New Orleans the supposed murder of her latest 'john', Piet Van Saal (Ralf Harolde). Old boyfriend Carl Erickson (Donald Cook) arranges for safe passage to Tortuga, a Caribbean Island without extradition laws. After 'marrying' the girl in the eyes of God but without the benefit of clergy, Carl leaves on his ship. Having successfully kept an international array of escaped crooks at bay, Gilda suddenly finds herself face-to-face with Van Saal, still very much alive and on Tortuga because an insurance scam went astray. The island's jealous executioner, Bruno (Morgan Wallace), hands the girl a gun 'to protect herself'. Van Saal attacks her, and this time Gilda manages to kill her tormentor. About to be acquitted of murder by a sympathetic jury, Gilda chooses to 'confess' in order to escape a trap set by Bruno. To the strains of Pagan Moon, the wronged girl bravely faces the gallows. Forthrightly told and extremely well acted, Safe in Hell features two prominent African-American performers - Nina Mae McKinney and Clarence Muse - portraying completely un-stereotypical characters. Muse, in fact, persuaded director Wellman to drop the screenplay's standard 'black' lines in favor of straight dialogue. McKinney, famous for playing the vamp in King Vidor's all-black Hallelujah! (1929), performs When It's Sleepy Time Down South by Clarence Muse.
Wellman and cinematographer Sid Hickox stage many of the scenes in chiaroscuro darkness, and even the opening title — in which the words 'Safe In Hell' appear as cutouts in a black field with fire billowing forth from behind the letters — is visually stunning and sets the mood for the film instead of merely announcing what it's called. (The title and the director's name — in small print on the same card — are the only credits we see at the outset; the other credits are relegated to the end, in the fashion that's now become standard but was highly unusual in 1931.) The script requires the actors, Mackaill and Cook in particular, to make some pretty abrupt hairpin turns in emotions and motivations, but it's a testament to their skill (especially Mackaill's— Cook's is a pretty straightforward good-guy lead and his only spectacular sequence is the early one in which his loathing suddenly turns into desperate protectiveness and love when she's about to be arrested) that all the emotional turns are quite credible and she's equally believable as a bad girl and a good one."

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Possessed 1931 - Mature pre-code Hollywood drama

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022276/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_15
IMDB rating: 6,7

Director: Clarence Brown
Main Cast: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, Marjorie White, John Miljan

"Clarence Brown creates an effective melodrama that interestingly examines some of the social mores and topical concerns of the 1930's. The position of women in society is the key theme addressed by the competent director, with Crawford's portrayal being both realistic and touching. Crawford makes great use of the close-up to express inner thoughts and feelings, suggesting a whole range of emotions when she overhears Gable speak of his reluctance towards marriage. Crawford is the film's best asset and she does some great work here, providing the most memorable scenes in the picture.
The film's other triumph is the slick narrative economy employed by Brown. Possessed clocks in at around 73 minutes and is a very efficiently-produced film. MGM's trademark opulent production design suits the penthouse scenes well, with Crawford looking terrific in jewels and well-cut Adrian dresses. Cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh provides some inspired visual style in an early scene that sees Marian standing in awe at the luxury and splendor passing by her on the train. The juxtaposition of Marian's two lifestyles in this short sequence is a nice effect.
The film is let down by Gable's distinct blandness and an average script. Gable conspicuously lacks presence alongside Crawford in their scenes and his dialogue delivery is very wooden here but Crawford manages to cover for him in their romantic scenes, putting in a top-drawer 'cover all bases' performance.
Based on a 1920 play by Edgar Selwyn, Possessed had been filmed previously in 1924 as The Mirage, a vehicle for silent star Florence Vidor."

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Pardon us 1931 - Laurel and Hardy's first feature length comedy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022251/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: James Parrott
Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Marlowe, Wilfred Lucas, James Finlayson

"Laurel and Hardy's first feature-length comedy was apparently meant to be a two-reeler, and was only expanded because of a dispute between producer Hal Roach and MGM. Roach wanted to use the actual set from The Big House for his parody and the studio agreed - if Laurel and Hardy would do a film for them. Roach refused this condition (odd, since the duo had been loaned out before), and proceeded to build his own prison set. The extra cost this ensued made it necessary to draw the film out to feature length. While Pardon Us is a very funny film, it is clear that it is based on a two-reel idea. The fact that it works as well as it does is due to the strength of the gags (the raspberry sound made by Laurel's loose tooth never grows old), and some very entertaining, though extraneous scenes. The schoolroom scene featuring James Finlayson appears out of nowhere, but it's still hilarious, and the part of the film featuring Laurel and Hardy as prison escapees in blackface could have been drawn out even longer, there's so much richness to it (in fact, there was actually more to these scenes that was edited out). The duo's little act, where Ollie sings and Stan does one of his light-footed, eccentric dances, is charming; they're one of the few comic acts of their era that could pull off a song and dance number without driving interest to a grinding halt in the eyes of today's audiences. While Pardon Us began life as a parody, it's not at all necessary to have seen The Big House to appreciate it fully. Laurel and Hardy would make many better feature films, but that says more about the overall high quality of their work than about any lacks this picture may have." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/pardon-us-v37266/

DVD links:

Honor among lovers 1931 - Displays of sexual harrasment in the workplace

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021969/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Dorothy Arzner
Main Cast: Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Monroe Owsley, Charles Ruggles, Ginger Rogers, Pat O'Brien

"Trailblazing female director Dorothy Arzner helmed this well-crafted romantic drama.
Julia Traynor (Claudette Colbert) is a secretary working for Jerry Stafford (Frederic March), a successful stock broker. Jerry has taken a decidedly non-professional interest in Julia, and when he asks her to join him on an ocean cruise, she firmly declines the offer. Hoping to throw Jerry off her trail, Julia accepts a hasty marriage proposal from Philip Craig (Monroe Owsley), a young and struggling securities broker. When Jerry learns that Julia has tied the knot, he rashly fires her and predicts that the marriage won't last six months. Jerry soon regrets his outburst and not only gives Julia her job back but hires Philip as well. However, Jerry's prediction proves to be not far from the mark; Julia is not happy with Philip, and Jerry learns that Philip has been embezzling company funds to play the market on his own. After a downturn in the market wipes out Philip's investments, Julia discovers that he owes $100,000 as a result of his bad investments. Desperate to raise money, Julia offers herself to Jerry in exchange for a loan; he refuses to take advantage of her, but he agrees to front her the money anyway. Philip, however, cannot believe that Jerry would give Julia the money without demanding her favors in return, and he goes after Jerry in a jealous rage.
This was the second of four on screen pairings for Colbert and March. The following year they reunited for DeMille's Sign of the Cross and, a month after that, for Mitchell Leisen's Tonight Is Ours. It's part of Hollywood legend that Colbert didn't really enjoy these pairings, because March was notorious for getting a bit too 'familiar' with his leading ladies. Colbert reportedly disliked the man – there are stories of March wandering around 'in a daze' on the set of Sign of the Cross, he was so nuts about her.
Another ponderous example of Arzner's apparent disdain for men and marriage - either good men turn bad or bad men reform only through the love of a good woman. The film does contain a few, as Billy Wilder would say, drop the popcorn bag moments, to its credit; but overall, it's a dark, unimaginative story, painted with the very broad strokes and heavy hand of the director."

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(Youtube, 8 parts)

Charlie Chan carries on 1931 - A very enjoyable entry in the series

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021733/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Hamilton MacFadden
Main Cast: Warner Oland, John Garrick, Marguerite Churchill, William Holden, George Brent, Jason Robards Sr.

"Warner Oland made his first appearance in the role of Earl Derr Biggers' sagacious, aphorism-spouting oriental detective Charlie Chan in the 1931 Fox production Charlie Chan Carries On. It all begins when Chan, on vacation from his job with the Honolulu police, tries to solve the murder of a wealthy American in a London hotel. The trail of clues leads Chan on a not-so-merry chase through Nice, San Remo, Hong Kong and Hawaii. The solution to the mystery lies in the words spoken by a temporarily blinded witness - or at least that's what she seems to be. According to contemporary reviews, the film was enlivened by the dumb-blonde dialogue delivered by Marjorie White and by the bumbling villainy of Warren Hymer." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/charlie-chan-carries-on-v86997

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(avi, 746 MB)

http://www.filefactory.com/file/3fyt6sxoww2d/

Dishonored 1931 - Dietrich as a fascinating spy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021800/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Warner Oland

"Contemporary viewers who go into Dishonored expecting a musty, dated espionage melodrama will be in for a surprise. Marlene Dietrich delivers a subtle and witty performance as a Viennese prostitute who offers her services as a spy during WWI. Though far from a classic, Dishonored is an immensely enjoyable vehicle for Marlene Dietrich, and a treat for fans of the screen goddess. Those who know Dietrich primarily as an icy, world weary siren, the personality with which she is often unfairly associated, will be in for a surprise here. 'I'm not afraid of living or of dying', she announces early on, and she certainly demonstrates her capacity for living in here in a performance which moves from joyousness, strength and vitality to a doomed resignation born of doomed love - and is always believable. A highlight is Dietrich's richly comic (and mostly silent) turn as fresh-off-the-farm scullery maid, a disguise which allows the actress to demonstrate a surprising talent for broad comedy. Aside from Dietrich, Dishonored has some problems. The script, though serviceable, is a bit short on inspiration and surprise; it gets to where it needs to go, but it doesn't take the viewer on a particularly interesting ride along the way. Director Josef von Sternberg does wonderfully with Dietrich and gets a good performance from Warner Oland, but he can't help Victor McLaglen get a handle on his character, leaving him to do little more than strut and stick an annoying leer on his face for extended periods of time. Von Sternberg does provide some beautiful visuals, of course, especially during one of his trademark party scenes; but he also overindulges a penchant for lengthy cross-fades." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/dishonored-v13959/

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Tokyo no korasu (Tokyo chorus) 1931 - Ozu's economic exploration of the Depression

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022485/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Main Cast: Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Hideo Sugawara, Hideko Takamine, Tatsuo Saito

"Tokyo Chorus is a dark comedy about unemployment and family in prewar Japan. The film opens with a group of young men at their school graduation. After saying goodbye to their teacher, they are off into the working world. The story follows a single man and his difficulties at his job. He cannot avoid annoying his boss, a tempestuous man, and he's summarily fired. The remainder of the movie concerns his descent into unemployment and the pressure it puts on his family. In a wonderful scene, his wife discovers that he's sold her kimonos to buy food. She approaches him crying while he's playing with their children and the children draw her into their game which dries her tears. After a series of adventures, he finds another job and calm is restored to the family and their lives.
Tokyo Chorus is famous for being the first film where Ozu consistently utilized a low-angle camera. Ozu does not hesitate to attempt to show us the realities of Great Depression unemployment. Indeed, he is more truthful than any comparable American movie of that time or ours. Ozu is willing to attempt to dig into the nexus between employment, self-identity and status that is prevalent throughout capitalist economies. This was his primary theme at the beginning of the Depression, in this movie along with his early masterpiece I Was Born, But... and Where Now are the Dreams of Youth? and Passing Fancy. In addition, Ozu also flexes his unparalleled ability with family scenes. Excellent performances from Ozu regulars Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Tatsuo Saito, as well as a winning child performance from future star Hideko Takamine." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/tokyo-no-gassho-v138789

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(Youtube, silent - with English, French, Hungarian, Portugese and Spanish intertitles)

Skippy 1931 - A timeless classic (not just) for children

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022397/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3
IMDB rating: 6,4

Director: Norman Taurog
Main Cast: Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green, Jackie Searl, Willard Robertson

"Percy Crosby's popular newspaper comic strip Skippy comes to life in this 1931 film. The passage of time and a loss of innocence have somewhat dampened the impact of Skippy, but it still stands as a powerful and affecting film. Although aimed at children, most adults will find a great deal to enjoy in Skippy, starting with Jackie Cooper's moving performance. Cooper pushes all the right buttons, and while occasionally his work feels somewhat calculated, most of the time it's natural and effortless. He can be both innocent and conniving, shrewd and naïve, and when he's happy, joy radiates from within. And both he and Robert Coogan are incredible at turning on the waterworks and tearing the heart out of the audience. Coogan's work is also exceptional, even if he is occasionally more manipulative than Cooper, and the two work together as if they really were two pals instead of actors. A great deal of credit for their success, of course, must go to director Norman Taurog, who handles the entire film with delicacy and sensitivity. Much of Joseph Mankiewicz's dialogue still packs a punch, even if some of it now seems a bit hokey; much the same can be said of the plot, especially since viewers have seen so many of its elements in other films through the years. But none of this will matter to younger kids, and little of it will matter to adults, who will likely forgive Skippy its flaws in favor of the nostalgic pleasures and pains that it brings back.
Twenty-five years later, Jackie Cooper, by that time a prominent TV producer/director, tried to revive Skippy as a weekly series, with future My Three Sons co-star Stanley Livingston in the lead." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/skippy-v110494/ 

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(Youtube, 9 parts)

The bachelor father 1931 - Great performance by Sir C. Aubrey Smith

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021633/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Main Cast: Marion Davies, Ralph Forbes, C. Aubrey Smith, Ray Milland

"A grumpy old baronet, happily unmarried, decides to send for his three grown-up illegitimate children and provide them a home at his manor. To his surprise, he finds himself bonding with his uninhibited American daughter. Can he find satisfaction in his new role as 'the bachelor father'?
This 1931 film, in which he gives a robust performance, marked the arrival at MGM of elderly Sir C. Aubrey Smith, very soon to be one of Hollywood's most valuable character actors. With his great hooked nose and beetling brows, Sir Aubrey looked every inch the part of the duke or general or statesman he would play so often. He would remain very much in demand in studios all over town, right up to his death in 1948.
The film's top-billed star is Marion Davies. Best remembered today as the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst and the chatelaine of Hearst Castle, the most fabulous residence on the West Coast, she was actually a very talented and pretty comedienne. For a few years, Hearst attempted to make her the queen of MGM (with her own production company and a huge bungalow-dressing room) but the studio already had several other queens - Dressler, Garbo, Shearer, Crawford - and he eventually moved her to Warner Bros. Here Miss Davies gets a chance to joke and clown and her scenes with Sir Aubrey are entertaining. Her love interest is played by Ralph Forbes, a handsome young British actor who was just starting to find good films as the silent days ended. He had all the qualities for major stardom, but sadly it was not to be. Celebrity would come to Ray Milland, here making one of his first screen appearances."

DVD links:

Cimarron 1931 - Lavishly produced but a little bit dated Western

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021746/?ref_=nv_sr_3
IMDB rating: 6,1

Director: Wesley Ruggles
Main Cast: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier Jr., Roscoe Ates, Edna May Oliver

"Cimarron was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture - and, until Dances with Wolves in 1990 - the only one. The film begins on April 22, 1889, the opening day of the great Oklahoma Land Rush on the Cherokee Strip. Boisterous Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) is cheated out of his land claim by the devious Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor). Instead of becoming a homesteader, Cravat establishes a muckraking newspaper, and with pistols in hand he becomes a widely respected (and widely feared) peacekeeper. He also displays a compassionate streak by coming to the defense of Dixie Lee, who is about to be arrested for prostitution. Cravat's insistence on sticking his nose into everyone's affairs drives a wedge between him and his young wife Sabra (Irene Dunne), but she stands by him - until he deserts her and her children, ever in pursuit of new adventures. Sabra takes over the newspaper herself, and with the moral support of her best friend, Mrs. Wyatt (Edna May Oliver), she creates a powerful publishing empire.
Cimarron makes the mistake of placing most of the action early in the film, so that everything that follows the spectacular opening land-rush sequence may feel anti-climactic. The famous Oklahoma Land Rush sequence was filmed near Bakersfield, CA, and included 47 camera operators and 5,000 dress extras. The scene, which to a modern viewer suggests some heavy borrowing from William S. Hart's similar sequence in the silent Tumbleweeds (1925), remains Cimarron's centerpiece and tends to dwarf the empire building sweep of Edna Ferber's original novel. And, to be frank, the remaining hour or so of political intrigue is rather ponderous and dull in comparison. While it's always enjoyable to watch Irene Dunne persevering through the years, it's rather wearing to sit through the overblown performance of Richard Dix, who seems to think that he can't make a point unless it's at the top of his lungs. Cimarron creaks badly when seen today, but it still outclasses the plodding 1960 remake." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/cimarron-v9640/

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(DVDrip, 1,37 GB)

http://www.filefactory.com/file/2x9z3u5loe5f/

Dance fools, dance 1931 - Crawford and Gable sizzle!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021778/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 5,9

Director: Harry Beaumont
Main Cast: Joan Crawford, Cliff Edwards, Lester Vail, William Bakewell, William Holden, Clark Gable, Natalie Moorehead

"This quick-moving and entertaining melodrama was MGM's answer to Little Caesar, The Public Enemy and Scarface, with a woman's angle added to make things a little different. As she did in many of her earlier films (both silent and sound), Crawford dances up a storm, proving herself as one of the best 'Jazz Babies' of the late 20's and early 30's. Star-to-be Clark Gable is billed way down in the credits, playing a brutish role that made him extremely unlikable, although his sexiness does show in his scenes with Crawford and the feisty Natalie Moorehead as his moll. In all of his future movies with the future 'Mommy Dearest', Gable softened his image and was more the lover rather than the brute man, even though he was still all man. Bakewell, who was a major player in the early 30's (usually cast as insensitive and selfish young men who cause their families a lot of heartache), was never really likable on screen, and in bit parts of the late 30's and 40's, this trait continued as well.
Well-written and excellently photographed, this is one of the films that assured Crawford stardom, making her a major threat to Norma Shearer. (Garbo would be in a category all her own.) There's a lot of pre-code innuendo, some great montages, and a memorable exchange between Natalie Moorehead and Gable involving a lit match."

DVD links:

The sin of Madelon Claudet 1931 - The definitive sacrificing mother saga of the 30's

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022386/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Edgar Selwyn
Main Cast: Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone, Neil Hamilton, Cliff Edwards, Jean Hersholt, Marie Prevost, Robert Young, Karen Morley, Charles Winninger

"Legend has it that Helen Hayes was somewhat embarrassed at winning an Oscar for a work as blatantly manipulative and melodramatic as The Sin of Madelon Claudet, but Hayes' performance overcomes the limitations of the material and, more importantly, even manages to elevate that material. Hayes is simply stunning, investing every moment of this sudsy tearjerker with an honesty that makes even its most stilted dialogue come alive. Her naïveté in the early segment of the film is endearing rather than cloying; it feels real rather than manufactured and, therefore, makes all the more powerful her strongly ambivalent feelings at the birth of her son. Hayes handles the transformations into each of the stages of her life with remarkable facility. In each stage she is practically a different character, yet the audience never once questions that they are all the same woman - nor questions whether one woman could exhibit so many different facets. While it's hard to see past the star performance, it must be noted that she gets some very solid support from the rest of the cast, especially from a wonderful Lewis Stone and an engaging Marie Prevost." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-sin-of-madelon-claudet-v44814/

DVD links:

Mata Hari 1931 - One legend portrays another

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023196/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: George Fitzmaurice
Main Cast: Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley

"Mata Hari is the kind of experience that one can get only from motion pictures. Which isn't to say that it is a great film, mind you. The script is a lot of claptrap, for example. As expected, it is totally inaccurate as biography, but it is also excessively melodramatic and filled with dialogue that makes modern day viewers wince when they don't laugh. But it does provide a showcase for the one and only Greta Garbo, and only a motion picture could do justice to this unique talent. The filmmakers dispense with concessions to reality, creating a visual wonderland that exists solely to point up the beauty and allure of their star. William Daniels' stunningly lit cinematography, Adrian's plethora of gowns, capes and furs, and Cedric Gibbons' fanciful sets are all icing on Garbo's cake, as is leading man Ramon Novarro. His performance is perfunctory, but that's almost beside the point: he looks like the kind of man Garbo should be exchanging passionate kisses with. And Garbo makes all the trouble well worth while. She exudes that strange, indefinable attraction in every frame, somehow making even the sappiest scenes (of which there are several) palatable - and occasionally genuinely moving. As for the rest of the cast, Lionel Barrymore is decidedly over-the-top, but that's in keeping with the general 'film-ic' quality of the piece; C. Gordon Henry has some good moments; and Karen Morley is memorably feisty in her brief appearance." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/mata-hari-v31795/

DVD links:

Smart money 1931 - A historic screen teaming of Robinson & Cagney

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022403/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Alfred E. Green
Main Cast: Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Evalyn Knapp, Ralf Harolde, Noel Francis, Margaret Livingston

"Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney were teamed for the only time in their careers in Smart Money. Robinson has the larger part as a small-town barber who fancies himself a big-time gambler. He travels to the Big City in the company of his younger brother Cagney, who wants to make sure that Robinson isn't fleeced by the high-rollers. Unfortunately Robinson has a weakness for beautiful blondes, most of whom take him for all his money or betray him in some other manner. The cops aren't keen on Robinson's gambling activities, but they can pin nothing on him until he accidentally kills Cagney in a fight. The incident results in a jail term for manslaughter, and a more sober-sided outlook on life for the formerly flamboyant Robinson. Watch closely in the first reel of Smart Money for an unbilled appearance by Boris Karloff as a dope pusher." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/smart-money-v120107

DVD links:

The criminal code 1931 - "Somebody's got to pay!"

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021770/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: Howard Hawks
Main Cast: Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings, Mary Doran

"Howard Hawks' early sound prison melodrama, based on a play by Martin Flavin, already contains his stylistic signature of over-lapping dialogue - a technique he would greatly expand upon in the next ten years. Walter Huston is district attorney Brady, who quickly convicts Robert Graham (Phillips Holmes) of murdering a man who was harassing his girlfriend. Brady is later made the warden of the prison where Robert is held. Brady tries to make friends with Robert, but Robert will have no dealings with the new warden. Nevertheless, Brady, who thinks Robert is a decent man who became embroiled in extraordinary circumstances, gives Robert a job as his chauffeur. As he drives with Brady's daughter Mary (Constance Cummings), the two fall in love. Meanwhile, things heat up back at the prison, where crazed killer Ned Galloway (Boris Karloff) kills the squealer Runch (Clark Marshall). Robert knows Ned killed Runch, but refuses to tell Brady. Brady reluctantly sends Robert to solitary confinement to get him to give up the murderer's name, but Robert holds out on him.
Constance Cummins isn't given much as Huston's daughter but she is appealing. However, Boris Karloff gives one of his very finest performances as a tough but decent prisoner.
The Criminal Code is one of Hawks' lesser known films (maybe because he was uncredited as director). It is simply a superlative film that is dominated by powerhouse performances by Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes and Boris Karloff. Holmes acting was occasionally flat in films but when he was given the right role he was fantastic as he definitely was here. The Criminal Code, which opened on Broadway in 1929 and lasted a very respectable 179 performances, was another acting honor for Walter Huston."

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